Facing a $1.2 million deficit, the Mt. Diablo Unified School District was nearly forced to  cut winter sports from its roster this year. After fundraising efforts, however, a grand sum of $516,000 was raised, enough to continue athletics through the winter.

          The district's high schools, which include Concord, Northgate, and Ygnacio Valley high schools, was nearly forced to remove sports like soccer and basketball from their schools’ programs.

          But because of efforts including a 5k run, organized dinners and donations from both individuals and corporations, the district raised enough to convince the board to continue sports through the winter.

          The prospect of eliminating sports was unpleasant.

       “I couldn't imagine if they were to do that here at Monte Vista,” said Sophomore Serra Sengra. “Sports are my life. I couldn't live without them.”

          “It was quite devastating to even fathom the idea of kids not having high school sports,” said Mt. Diablo Athletic Foundation Board Member John Antaki.

          While the large sum raised is enough to fund the winter programs, it's not even half of the $1.2 million needed to extend the sports through spring. If the schools plan to offer spring sports like baseball and lacrosse, another $700,000 must be found.